


The Ways To Say, "I Love You"

by tafih



Category: Avengers: Endgame (2019), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A-Team scene, Alien Cultural Differences, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Aunt Nebula, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, BAMF Helen Cho, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Dinner, F/F, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Trope Classics, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Happy Birthday Tony Stark, Happy Ending, Happy Tony Stark, Irondad, Juice pops, Morgan Stark is a technopath, Morgan-centric, Nebula & Tony Stark Friendship, Nebula gets a family, Nebula gets her closure, Nebula is sadistic but also soft, Nebula is the captain of "Protect Morgan Stark at all costs" team, Nebula-centric (Marvel), Sickbed, Tony walks his daughter down the aisle, Wedding Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-09 14:11:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18918613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tafih/pseuds/tafih
Summary: There are only so many ways Nebula can say, “I love you” without saying the actual words.Morgan Stark knows them all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Four Years After.**

* * *

Morgan, who - at this point - experienced three-point-eight rotations around her galaxy’s sun, had called Nebula “Auntie Nebula.”

In context, the small one said, “How big is space, Auntie Nebula?”

The girl was sitting in Nebula’s lap while they both sat in the dining area of the Stark home. Tony and his mate, Pepper, were fashioning a meal for them to share together, especially for Nebula’s visit.

Rocket usually spent his time in New Asgard.

Pepper was making an Earth dish called, “ _LAZANYA_.”

It smelled incredibly appetizing.

“We are not genetically related,” Nebula returned, her voice slow and faltering as she thought of the implications. Did the human child truly think that they were related despite the obvious phenotype differences of their species?

“But you’re still my auntie,” Morgan retorted, looking up at her. “Like how Uncle Rhodey is still my uncle even though he’s not.”

“Rhodey is not genetically related to you?” Nebula asked Tony, who was flicking spices onto another dish.

“Yeah, no, he’s black.”

“Tony!” Pepper berates him.

“What? It’s not racist? It’s _true_. He’s a handsome, well-toned, black man.” Then he looks at Nebula. “It’s like you and Gamora, right? You had different parents - or - what’s the fancy word - _progenitors_ , right? But you were still sisters.”

The sting of Gamora’s passing had faded over the years, which Tony had known, and nowadays, Nebula chose to only remember the few fond moments they did share. Her lips upturned slightly, specifically at the memory of when they fell into mud during a mission and Gamora was not able to wash it out of her hair for an extended period of time. “Yes, I understand.”

“So how big is space?” Morgan asked, her pronunciation of her s’s (and usually her t's) still suffered but the fault endeared her to Nebula.

“ _Infinite_ , with too many worlds and planets to count,” she replied, her modulator soft and whispering. Morgan’s smile and eyes grew bigger and Nebula was thankful that those facial expressions meant similar things for her, they meant she was excited and happy. “But why not ask your father? He went to space too.”

“Not as much as you and he just says it’s full of farts.”

“ _Tony,_ ” Pepper scolded him again.  

“Come on, Mo-bot, you promised you wouldn’t tell!” Tony’s tone was sarcastic and playful and he exaggerates the look of betrayal with his expressions.

The girl puffed out her cheeks in response. Nebula wanted to squish them so she did.

“You need to stop telling her weird things. She brings them up in class and I don’t want to be called in _again_ because of something you told her.”

Whenever Pepper scolded Tony, which was often, Nebula noted how it was always full of affection and never hurtful, never how she would be rebuked. It took a long interval for her to get used to anyone scolding Stark. She had thought Pepper was attacking Tony, at first. In fact, their first “casual” moment between the three of them almost ended with her jumping Pepper.

But then the man would simply smile, or retort, or demonstrate other behavior more akin to friendship.

And Nebula’s typical defensive response went away in time.

Then the doorbell rang and Morgan slid off her thighs, screeching, “IT’S UNCLE RHODEY!” She dashed off to the front foyer of the house.

Nebula noted, with a certain level of trepidation, that she already missed the girl’s physical warmth. She resolved to keep her close for the remainder of the evening. Even if she had to fight Rhodey for it. But Rhodey was a sensible man. He would concede.

“Hey, little man,” Nebula heard Rhodey say warmly.

“I’m not a man,” laughed Morgan.

“‘Sup, Nebula,” Rhodey said once he registered her presence after walking to the kitchen, holding Morgan’s hand.

“Rhodey,” Nebula returned with a tight nod of her head, then, with stilted motions, gestured for Morgan to return to her lap. Thankfully, Morgan complied and proceeded to crawl up her legs.

“How’s space?” he asked her, referring to her latest endeavors in the Quaizor district.

“She said it’s _inbinit_ ,” Morgan provided, proudly. She looked up at Nebula and whispered, “Was that right?”

“Perfect.”

* * *

They had dinner and she understood most of the conversation, but never when Tony would start discussing a very specific Earth culture medium. He was much like Quill, in that regard. But him, Pepper, and Rhodey would always do their best to explain those things to her. 

The _LAZANYA_ was quite enjoyable.

“It’s all the cheese,” Stark explained. “In fact, I think everything we’ve given you has cheese in it.”

“American staple,” Rhodey added.

“Cheese staples?” Morgan asked, genuinely confused but also thrilled by the prospect, her open mouth covered in red sauce.

“No, honey,” Pepper laughed as she took a napkin and dabbed her daughter’s face. “So please don’t put cheese in the stapler.”

The girl made a disgruntled noise as if her evening plans were thwarted.

“Staple means it is very common,” Pepper then explained, standing and taking her plate and Nebula’s to wash. “Did you like it, Nebula?”

“I did. It was appetizing. Thank you, Pepper Potts-Stark.”

“No worries; and you don’t need to call me by my full name. Pepper is fine,” she said through her smile.

Nebula always thought Pepper’s smile was nice. Very symmetrical and soft.  

“So what should we have for dessert?” Tony announced very loudly and dramatically from his open food storage box.

Morgan jerked up with enthusiasm and disappeared from her seat.

“You sure she needs more sugar?” Rhodey commented when Pepper returned to the table with two glasses of maroon red alcohol. She handed one to Rhodey and said, “You try keeping a Stark away from sugar.”

“True,” he nodded, taking the glass. Nebula always abstained from Earth alcohol. It was never strong enough for her and tasted strange. She did enjoy Earth cranberry juice, however.

“What does that imply?” Nebula asked him. “More sugar?”

“Oh, just, that here, sugar seems to have an effect on kids. Make them more hyperactive and stuff,” Rhodey noted.

Nebula nodded in understanding. “I have seen that effect on Rocket when he eats your _popsicles_ ; they have a similar treat on Phandyen. Frozen moonberries.”

“Oh, I would pay to see that,” Rhodey chuckled. “The Rocket thing; not the moonberries - but I mean, if they taste just as good then sure. But I’ll bring a box of popsicles next time he comes over.”

“It would be amusing,” she noted.

“Keep that on the compound please,” Pepper sighed before taking a sip of her wine. “The last thing I need is a talking rabid raccoon giving the kid even _more_ ideas on how to destroy the house.”

“JUICE POPS,” Morgan exclaimed, appearing suddenly at the table, holding up a yellow box into the air.

“Just one,” Pepper said, her voice full of warning.

“One and a half!” argued the child, shaking the box above her head.

“ _One_.”

“She can have my half,” Rhodey contributed to the chaos with a wink. Morgan immediately shouted, “YES!”

"I can also give mine," Nebula provided, sneaking a shared smile with the child. 

“NO. Only one, little miss.”

“Daddy?” Morgan asked her father, very loudly.

“Mommy’s the boss,” he shouted back from the kitchen.

Morgan frowned. “I wanna be the boss,” she muttered with a pout.  

“You can be my boss, Mo,” Rhodey gave. Rhodey was very kind to Morgan, in a way that Nebula could understand.

“Then you still give me half?”

“Morgan!”

* * *

But Pepper was the real boss.

Even Nebula knew that.

So when the night came to an end, the child only managed to eat one juice pop.

Nebula had one too and Stark had poured her a few glasses full of cranberry juice.

They always have some for her.

Rhodey had left early for a meeting and when Morgan’s bedtime came, Nebula decided it was time for her to leave too.

“Auntie Nebula?” Morgan grabbed at her knees when she went out on the porch to say goodbye.

“Yes, Morgan Stark?”

“I love you.”

Nebula flinched. Those words were so foreign to her yet came so naturally out of this child.

“I love you a lot and I want you to visit more, okay?”

Her neurons stalled. “I’ll...I’ll try.”

“Do you love me?” she asked, so quickly and so expectantly. 

“I…”

Then Tony stepped in, scooping Morgan in his arms. “Alright, monster, let’s get you to bed. Aunt Nebula has to go.”

“Why?”

“Ugh, most kids just say, “No.” Why aren’t you normal?” he muttered, as if frustrated, but then he blew raspberries into her cheeks and she giggled maniacally.

“I’ll take her,” Pepper said, stretching her arms out to receive their sniggering daughter. “Bye, Nebula. We’ll see you next month, right?”

“Yes,” Nebula stated. “Good night.”

Pepper smiled and returned into the house, with Morgan in her arms. When the door was about to close, over her mother’s shoulder, Morgan waved goodbye.

Nebula waved back until they were out of view.

“You don’t have to force yourself,” Tony said, after a beat. Nebula knew he meant about the “Do you love me?” question.

“I do...hold positive emotions,” she justified. “It’s just-”

“I get it. _Love_ ’s a loaded word. Took me forever to get used to it.” He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring nod. “Take your time. She’ll be around.”

“You too?” Nebula queried.

His brows shot up. “Why ask that?”

“Your sense of self-preservation is low. _Very_ low,” she emphasized, her voice faint, pitched, and withered. 

He laughed but her expression showed him how serious she is.

“You have no idea,” he japed.

“It is not something to laugh about. You don’t even do things out of impulse,” she expounded, very realistically.

“I know...it just, I can’t help it. I spent most of my life just focused on myself. Now I need to spend the rest of my life focused on others.”

“You can worry about yourself too.”

Tony turned to her and smiled. “I already have you to worry about me.”

“And Pepper.”

“Yep.”

“But she is stressed enough.”

“Ha, very true.”

“So me and Rhodey.”

“Think you can handle it?”

“You were my first friend, Tony Stark,” she admitted among the symphony of crickets. “I would for you.”

* * *

“That’s kinda sad,” he quipped. But she knew he was almost about to cry.

* * *

* * *

  **Five Years After.**

* * *

The battle rages and beasts roar.

The human spider falls to the ground with the gauntlet, a few yards from her. She rushes to him. He is nestled in a ditch, his arms wrapped around the gauntlet, holding it tight against his chest.

“Hi, I’m Peter Parker,” he whimpers quietly.

His face is beaten up and Nebula can only assume he is injured. She then recognizes him as the boy from Tony’s photo display in his kitchen.

“Hello, Peter Parker,” she says, though with urgency in her voice. “Give it to me. I’ll take it to the van.”

He gets up with a grunt. Then he looks out over the waves of Thanos’ army that approach.  “I don’t know how you’re gonna get through all that.”

“She’ll have help,” her sister says, coming along beside her, her blade extending with a sharp clang.

Then the others arrive, forming a flank around her.

“And she won’t be alone,” Okoye of Wakanda declares, her weapon drawn. Pepper, adorned in RESCUE, lands in front of her as well.

A blur rushes by in the air and Nebula recognizes it as Carol Danvers, who shouts, “I’ll keep him busy.” Then they see her force collide with Thanos.

“Let’s go,” Nebula bites, her grip tight, and her form ready.

Her allies swarm out ahead of her, clearing a path, and she runs.

Whenever something gets too close, someone takes it out for her. She runs, uninhibited, the van in her sights.

Going and going until she hears him howl.

She turns to see him, trying to pin Danvers to the ground, struggling. But his attention is on her.

On his daughter.

She sees realization fill his features, to then be transformed by the anger that he always had when he addressed her.

She smiles.

She hopes he feels this failure, _his_ failure, in his flesh and bones.

This anger should be the very last thing he feels.

She will succeed.

But just several meters from the van, Thanos throws his blade. The explosion throws her on her back and gauntlet flies out from her grasp.

Her mind goes black when she hits the ground. She is out for a few seconds but she gets back up to see Carol wrenching Thanos’ hand down.

He has the gauntlet.

She sees Tony in a close distance, his gaze caught towards the wizard. The man holds up a single finger and she knows its meaning too.

As Tony lunges at Thanos, she sprints to him. She sees them struggle together, sees Tony circle the stones to his hand.

“I am inevitable,” her father says, with certainty, as she rushes past him. She hears the failing snap.

She knows what happened.

“And I,” Stark huffs, his gaze fixed upon Thanos. His hand ready. “...am...Ironman.”

“Tony!” Nebula shouts, as he moves his fingers to make the snap. She reaches him when he does and she screams.

She feels it all, the energy of all the Infinity Stones warping through the very fabric of her being, of his. Eternity and beyond surges between the two of them, as if in deliberation.

Choosing who to take.

Nebula reaches up, moving against the forces of everything in the entire cosmos, and grabs his hand, cradling his palm over hers.

She only thinks of one thing as she does.

Not of Thanos. Not of her pain. Not of her past.

She only thinks of Morgan and how she needs her father.

Only Morgan and how she wishes she could have said, "I love you," back. Because she did love her. 

* * *

This is family.

This is mercy.

This is love. 

* * *

“Take me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fixed it! Here you go! Nebula taking the gauntlet is largely inspired by the youtuber, Nando v Movies and his video, "Changing the End Game - Avengers: Endgame"
> 
> Also, this chapter is Nebula's POV. Ch. 2 will have Morgan's and Nebula's then Ch. 3 will just have Morgan's.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan's POV then Nebula's POV

**Five Years After.**

* * *

Morgan Stark - at this point - now experienced four-point-seven-one rotations around her sun, and she watches a bunch of people congregate at her home.

Earlier, Happy had stayed with Morgan during the big fight but then Mr. Cho showed up with Maddy and Ammy and their machines in a helicopter and said they needed a room. So Happy took them into the house and Maddy came to her and hugged her.

Maddy is seven and Ammy is ten. They came to play a lot with their dad, Mr. Cho, since they live really close - in New Jersey - but Morgan had never met Mrs. Cho until now. And when a really pretty Korean lady wheeled in her body-making machine, Morgan knew who she was.

“That’s my mom,” Maddy said. “Your dad brought her back.”

“The Hulk brought her back,” Ammy corrected. “Didn’t you hear what Dad said over the phone?”

Ammy and Maddy are both kinda bossy. But they are nice to her and they all have fun making robots out of LEGOs and the things Morgan steals from the garage.

Then Mommy came with Mr. Thor. She carried Nebula and Mr. Thor carried Daddy through a big golden magic circle.

Mommy was crying so Mr. America came and took Aunt Nebula and carried her into the house. Actually, a lot of people came through the big circle with Mr. America. Mommy didn’t really like Mr. America, so that was why only aunts and uncles came over for dinner.

So it was a big surprise to see so many people suddenly there. Morgan watched and watched all of these people standing on her grass.

Maddy held her hand then. “It’s the Avengers,” she whispered. “There’s a _lot_ more than I thought.”

“I know. There’s - like - _twendy_ more,” Morgan said in awe.   

“Oh my gosh-” someone said suddenly.

And Morgan looked up to see a teenager in a suit that looked like Daddy’s when he walked up to them. “You’re a mini-him...I mean, you’re a girl, but you…”

“Who are you?” Maddy snarled, stepping in front of Morgan.

“Oh, no, I just - I’m Peter Parker.”

“I don’t know who that is!” Maddy barked at him like an angry puppy.

“Spiderman?” he muttered.

“Oh!” Morgan chirped. “I know you! Daddy talked about you.”

“He did? He...did...” Then Spiderman started crying. He started crying really hard and gave Morgan a big hug and wouldn't let go. Maddy looked upset, like Spiderman was squishing her, but Morgan said it was okay. It was okay since Spiderman’s suit _was_ Daddy’s; she felt it when her hands touched the metal.

Daddy only made suits for people in the family.

So Spiderman must be her big brother.

* * *

Now, Morgan sneaks into the guest room with Maddy.

Daddy and Auntie Nebula share the guest room, in two separate beds, with Maddy’s mom’s machinery humming in between them and lines and wires all over their bodies.

Mommy is outside, crying into Happy’s shoulder. But Morgan knows those are happy tears, because it’s Uncle Happy and because Daddy and Aunt Nebula are still breathing and the machines are saying that they will be fine. So Morgan believes them.

She always believes machines.

Maddy is holding her hand, still. They both watch.

“Mom says they’ll be okay but that they need to sleep,” she says. Maddy means her mom, not Mommy. But that’s okay. “Wanna play with my Nintendo? It’s all mine. I don’t have to share it with Ammy, but I’ll share it with you.”

Morgan shakes her head. “No, thanks. But you can go out and play. I want to stay with them.”

Daddy looks tired.

So tired. But he gets to sleep now. He does not sleep a lot. So now is his naptime.

And his right arm is shriveled like those mushrooms Morgan hates eating.

Aunt Nebula’s right arm is weird and shriveled too. But Maddy’s mom’s machine is making them both new ones.

There’s another teenager there and she is helping. She said her name is Shuri and Morgan thinks it is the coolest name in the world, right after Maddy’s since Maddy’s real name is _Madame Curie_. And Marie Curie was the coolest. Morgan has a poster of Madame Marie Curie up on her wall.

Morgan is named after Mommy’s weird uncle, so it’s a _boys’_ name.

Shuri is feeding Vibranium into Mrs. Cho’s machine so that means Daddy is going to have a robot arm and Aunt Nebula will have two.

“But it will take a while,” Shuri explains and Morgan understands when she touches the machine that Shuri brought which hovers over their brains.

But then Mommy comes in and tells her they need to go so that they stop bothering Shuri.

“But what if they wake up?” Morgan asks.

“They won’t for a while, honey,” Mommy sighs and she kneels in front of her and Maddy. “It’s going to be a really long nap.”

“Did they almost die?” Morgan asks, her hand grips Maddy’s a little tighter.

Mommy’s face breaks a little and she looks like she might cry again. “Almost.”

“But God brought them back,” Maddy declares so strongly that Morgan feels better. Because she does feel a bit scared. Daddy has never slept for this long. 

“Well, _a_ god did,” Maddy’s mom says when she walks in too. “Maddy, can you play with Morgan, outside? Um-ma needs to check on Mr. Stark and Ms. Nebula with Ms. Shuri.”

“Aunt Nebula,” Morgan corrects, firmly.

Maddy’s mom smiles and nods.

* * *

That night, when Maddy falls asleep in her room, Morgan sneaks out again and tiptoes down the stairs to go to the guest room.

Everyone is in the study and talking very very seriously, like all adults. So she is able to slide in with her socks and slowly open the door. She goes to Daddy’s bed first and climbs on top, but near his feet since Maddy’s mom’s machine is still working on his arm and shoulder.

The blankets smell kinda dusty but they are soft and Morgan tucks her feet under the blanket so they tap Daddy’s feet.

“Daddy, wake up,” she mutters as the machines continue to whir. “Come on, daddy. Wake up, then we can have cheeseburgers.”

She really wants a cheeseburger right now.

But he doesn’t wake up.

So Morgan slips down from the bed, her feet dangling for a bit before she lands on the floor and she quietly plods her way to Shuri’s machine. She touches it and asks it, “I know you said it’s going to take a long time. But the arms are almost done and it’s been _seven_  hours - and that’s like a hundred years. Why is it taking so long?”

_Away._

“Do you know where?”

_Their brains are sleeping and_ ... _Traveling_ , Shuri’s machine says. But it doesn’t know where.

* * *

“They’re not here,” Morgan then announces to everyone in the study. And there’s a lot.

There’s Mommy, Uncle Happy, Uncle Rhodey, Mr. America. Uncle-Doctor Hulk, Spiderman, Mr. Thor, a guy in a cape with the same mustache as Daddy’s, Maddy’s mom and dad, a Green lady with really pretty hair, and Rocket the Raccoon. They all look sad and angry but when they see her they seem tired and angry.

Mommy asks why she is up but then Uncle Rhodey questions, “What was that, honey?”

So she takes a big breath and says, “The machine said, that their brains are not here. So when their brains come back; that’s when they can get up from their nap and be okay.”

All the adults are quiet for a while, then they start looking at each other.

Finally, Spiderman goes, “Holy shit, she’s a technopath.”

“Shit!” she repeats, with a fit of giggles, pointing at him.

“Morgan!”

Oh right, it’s supposed to be Mommy’s word.

* * *

Mommy then calls Ms. _Danbers_. Danvers?

She is really really super cool and has awesome hair and she has blue and yellow glowing hands and the glowing is the same type of thingy that is keeping Daddy and Nebula from waking up.

So the guy in the cape, whose name is Dr. Strange, which is _also_ a pretty cool name, can put her glowing thingy with Shuri’s machine and his magic and find out where their brains are.

“Like a magic GPS,” Morgan says, explaining to Maddy when they have breakfast the next morning. It's cocoa puffs!

“That’s cool,” Maddy mutters through her mouthful. 

“Yeah, but it’ll still take a long time.”

“It takes a long time to go somewhere and come back," Maddy talks like a teacher. "Like, when Ammy and me come here. It takes forever in the car but then when we’re here we spend a _lot_ of time here, but it seems like smaller time. And then it takes forever to go back home. But then, it's really - uhm - just was ten hours.”

Morgan doesn’t really get it. But it also kinda makes sense.  

* * *

* * *

**Six Years After.**

* * *

Nebula is not able to describe in words or code or binary what she experiences. But she senses Tony is there and the two of them are in something _Eternal_ and _Infinite._

In a space that knows no bounds and no laws, something greater than the universe and the cosmos itself. But it feels _familial_.

It feels like everything.

It feels like nothing.

It feels like truth.

“It is time for you two to return.” _Infinity_ says and _Infinity_ would know. But she takes the form of the woman dressed in black, with red and gold in her hair.

So they do. They go back.

Her eyes are still shut when she hears Stark say, “Hiya, Mo-bot.”

“Hi, daddy.”

“You look - _did you get taller_?”

“Yep! I’m turning five and a half in thirteen-point-five days. Your nap was _really_ long.”

“No shit, five and a _half_?”

“Ha, you said, “shit” again. _Oh_ , shhh, I’m gonna say hi to auntie.”

Nebula lifts the heaviness off her eyes so that she might see Morgan Stark peering over her with a smile, her plush bunny in her arms. “Hi, Aunt Nebula.”

* * *

Nebula, realizes then, that they were stuck in the Realm of Eternals. Her and Tony.

On the precipice of sacrifice and nothingness, sharing a single rope that held them back, that tugged them back, that brought them back.

That rope, that anchor, that pull was and always will be Morgan H. Stark.

She looks at this little girl and she knows that she has found her family. The family she was always wanted and dreamt about. The love she never knew or felt until she landed on earth and the Ironman brought her into his home, and made himself her brother.

The emotion she feels when she watches Morgan smile at her, expectant and waiting, is so pure and unadulterated, so unlike anything that she has ever felt before. Even with Tony.

There is camaraderie with Tony.

But with Morgan.

With Morgan...

Every single time and moment Nebula spends looking at this child, she feels distilled, like she is made anew instead of being taken apart. A drop of her clears away everything dark and terrible and lurking.

Even when Pepper and Rhodey file in, with tears and words of gratitude, Nebula only stares at the little girl, focusing on this tiny, small person. This little girl who laughs at everything; who believes every word from her mouth; who makes the same promise repeatedly to travel the galaxies with her.

This small entity named Morgan gives her so much _joy_.

Morgan is her light.

* * *

“You have two robot arms now,” her light speaks. “Shuri and Maddy’s mom made them for you.”

Nebula feels out into the air and indeed, both her arms are made of vibranium flesh. It feels much more natural yet still more _metallic_ than her previous limb units.

She does not know who Shuri or this Madeesmohm is.

Nebula means to ask but her voice is raw and uncooperative. But of course, Tony is already chattering away with his wife and genetically-unrelated brother.

Morgan stays at her side, though; sharing her light, perched atop her little plastic stool.

“Your hand saved Daddy. You brought him back.”

Nebula can only manage to nod, at this point, her head and components swirling with its sudden return to Earth and its reality. But she does know that it is Morgan who brought her back.

“Thank you for coming back too. I missed you.” Morgan reaches over and holds her hand, vibranium against skin. Warm.

Nebula forces herself to sit up, her new joints calibrating and adapting to her neurons, awkward because she wants to keep holding onto her light’s hand. She then manages to stretch out and tap Morgan on the head with her other hand.

Then she says the only thing she can think of. 

* * *

“You are the sun, Morgan Stark.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a F/F relationship. If you don't like that, I suggest you skip this. 
> 
> If you do, enjoy~

**TWENTY YEARS AFTER.**

* * *

Morgan, now twenty-three-point-eight-four rotations around the sun, is getting ready for the greatest, happiest day of her life.

And it should be.  

Her mother is fussing over her hair and weeping and crying.

“Gosh, mom,” Morgan whines when Pepper Potts-Stark envelopes her in a tight hug, tears smearing on her makeup.

“Morgan, you are my only daughter, I can weep as much as I want.”

“Hey, you ready? They’re going to play the march soon.” Harley says, peeking his head into the room and gasps, “Damn, kid, you look amazing.”

“Thanks, Harl,” she laughs as she stands, then indulges in a twirl to show off her dress, her special shade of hot-rod red coming up the train and around her waist.

Then she leaves the dressing room to join the rest of the wedding party.

They herd around the doors like excited gazelles, decked out in her colors.

Harley and Peter are there, their neckties and boutonnieres bringing that pop of scarlet against their snazzy grey suits. And it all feels so perfect. Her friends and family right there, all about to walk down the aisle before her.

When she reaches them, everyone comments dutifully on how beautiful she looks and how happy they are to be a part of this special day.

Then an attendant slithers out of the main sanctuary and tells them that the music had started and for everyone to take their place.

Peter holds out his arm to Kamala and they start off the procession when the doors open.

Behind them go Harley with Cassie Barton; then Rumi, her best friend since middle school, with Miles Morales; Lillian with Viv; then Nate with Jaina, the friend from college.

Each of them, forming a pair, as a reminder of the memories they all share.

* * *

Then, the ever-present, ever-scowling, ever-standing-in-the-corner-like-an-ominous-sentry, is her aunt, Nebula, her maid of honor.

The blue alien wears a streamlined suit of crimson, made and designed by Morgan, just for her, just for this. Nebula steps up to the white runner and takes the elbow of the former Hulk. Her movements are as awkward as ever but Morgan knows what she feels to be standing there. Her aunt looks back and gives her a smile, then walks down the aisle with Dr. Banner.

Then little James Rogers II with Riley Wilson step out, and both are so cute, him in his little suit and bowtie and her in her little white dress lined with gold. James is all seriousness and Riley is a bouncing ball of smiles and activity. Besides them are DUM-E and U, holding the flower basket and the little hipster chalkboard the has _ABOUT TO BE MARRIED_ written in neat cursive. Between the four of them, the flowers are scattered everywhere and everyone in the pews laugh and swoon and take pictures.

The doors close behind them and Morgan steps behind them with her parents on either side.

“You ready, Morguna?” her dad asks, appearing from thin air, his left arm linking with her right.

“Are you?” she quips back.

“Oh, definitely not.”

The doors open before she can respond, and their song starts playing.

Walking down the aisle, her dad and her mom beside her, Morgan is probably the happiest bride who has ever walked among gods and immortals.

Especially, when she sees her fiancee standing at the end of the runner, ready to begin their life together.

* * *

So Morgan H. Stark has seen quite a bit of the universe, with her aunt. They’ve traversed between multiple galaxies, through asteroid fields, and dropped by multiple planets and space stations.

She also has accomplished a lot because of her parents. She has been to every single continent and has met more inter-galactic leaders than any other human female. She has faced and fought senators, monsters, demons, and gods.

Morgan has “talked” to all kinds of alien machinery, and understood their code. She’s made every single Iron Legion suit with a wave of her hand, for the past 17 models.

She is the Iron Forge.

But seeing her fiancee just makes Morgan go weak at the knees.

* * *

Maddy Cho is up at the altar, smiley and formidable.

Her glorious wife-to-be.

Morgan is overwhelmed by the sight of her.

She is radiant. She looks so good and beautiful and strong and magnificent in her white and gold suit. God, she loves her. Goodness, she’s _loved_ her for so long, for more than a decade - hopelessly, intensely, terribly - since she was thirteen years old.

She has loved her through everything and every eventuality.

* * *

Madame Curie Cho stands at the altar, with her brother and Dr. Banner behind her.

Maddy’s parents aren’t there; and Morgan had wished and prayed that they could have been because they should be. But she’s sure they’re smiling from Elysium, from the white and golden fields of heaven.

Maddy’s colors are for them.

Morgan’s are for hers.

Then the runner ends and her mother envelopes her in a hug. “I love you, darling. I am so happy for you,” Pepper whimpers, struggling to let her go.

“I love you too, Mom. So much.”

“Okay, my turn,” Tony interjects, forcing himself between the loves of his life. Then he, her father, whispers to her, “I love you 3000.”

“I love you more,” Morgan mutters back, feeling so much love bursting from her as she kisses his cheek, so thankful that she can have him with her like this.

Then he lets her go to be a wife to her wife.

Her parents go and sit on the first pew with Uncle Rhodey.

Morgan hands her flowers to her Aunt Nebula.

* * *

This is how things always should be, Morgan Stark believes with every cell and strand of her being as she steps up to the altar. Surrounded by the people she loves with all her iron-forged heart.

She knows that things can’t always be like this, sometimes. She knows that the universe is angry and broken. She knows that everyone in this room is willing to lay down their lives for something greater than themselves, for this broken universe.

But, this is how it should be. When things come together and be a little less broken.

Isn’t that what it means to be a part of a team?

Like the stained glass window, through which technicolored sunlight peers through and blankets her and her Maddy when they face each other, and Maddy throws up her veil.

Then, when she looks at Maddy. When she takes her hand. When their rings fit perfectly. When they say, “I do.” When they share their first kiss as spouses, as wives.

It is something greater than the two of them on their own.

It is something shared with all these people.

It is family.

It is truth.

It is love.

* * *

* * *

Morgan Stark-Cho is married.

Morgan Stark-Cho is married to the love of her life, and she could not be more in love and full of love.  

The reception is at her house, sprawled over their land, amidst the pines and oaks, overlooking the lake. There is a dance floor, and twinkle lights, and the largest gazebo money can rent, and little tiki torches to keep the mosquitos away.

Well, most of the mosquitos. Her dad jokes about fashioning a laser gun, specifically for the mosquitos, after his neck gets another bite and Morgan promises him to draw up plans after the honeymoon.

Everything under the gazebo is adorned in her red and Maddy’s gold. Their names, embellished as _MORGAN & MADDY _are everywhere, and there is an M&Ms bar in the back corner. The food is the absolute best, Korean gourmet and Italian. It helps that Maddy’s aunt is a celebrity chef. Maddy makes a quip about wearing sweatpants, the food is that good.

It is all beautiful and breathtaking and better than anything Morgan had hoped for.

The speeches are great. Nebula’s is the shortest but it made Morgan cry. And she’s pretty sure she heard Gamora and Rocket bawling from the tables.

Dr. Banner’s is the most serious and fluffy. Her dad’s is the funniest, but Ammy’s is objectively the best, since it makes everyone cry _and_ laugh.

“I’m sure Um-Ma and Ap-pa would have loved to be here, to be part of this,” he says, his voice wavering. “And they are in their own way. They are here in our hearts and I feel their love. I feel their love for you and Morgan. They’re watching over us and they are a part of this. And _we_ love you so much.”

Maddy is usually pretty stoic and cool so she is trying to keep her tears at bay. Morgan is the crier and she’s been crying non-stop since the speeches started. But now, she tilts Maddy’s face to hers, kisses her on the cheek and says, “Let it all out, babe. It’s just me.”

So Maddy cries into her shoulder, snot on her reception dress, but she doesn’t care about that. Morgan only rubs her hand up and down Maddy’s arm, whispering her love.

Ammy goes on, talking about how he had to raise the angriest smart-alec alive, with little embarrassing anecdotes that help Maddy shed her last tear and start scowling again. Then he thanks Morgan for taking her off his hands. “But now, Madds gets to call Tony Stark “dad”, and that’s kinda not fair.”

Everyone laughs and Tony shouts, “You can call me 'Daddy,' kid.”

“Oh god, no,” Ammy retorts, looking scandalized. “Not like that.”

Then everyone laughs harder.

Morgan feels so lucky and her cheeks dimple, because she has Ammy as her real brother now, by law and he can’t back out of that. She gets to add the Cho’s to her growing family and knows it is a blessing.

Amadeus Cho, brother-in-law, ends his speech, raises his glass and shouts, “You are my favorite sisters and here’s to you and your gloriously nerdy life ahead of you. To the Super-Brides!”

“To the super-brides!”  The glasses rise then the clinking starts up, and Morgan is more than happy to lean over and kiss her wife.

Their crowd of superheroes and family members cheer and woot. Then Morgan stands, throws her arms into the air, and proudly announces that is time to “f*cking dance!”

And Pepper shouts, “Morgan!”

Because, well, of course she does.

* * *

Morgan Stark-Cho loves to dance, always did. Ever since her dad blasted his _Queen_ \+ _The Clash_ playlist through the house speakers when she was three, just one random day, and they both jumped around the living room with air guitars. It’s a tradition now. One that Ammy loves to partake in.

Maddy Cho-Stark is less inclined when it comes to dancing but she does just so that she can dance with her wife.

It is so awesome to say that. “Wife, my wife. You’re my wife,” Morgan squeals.

“Okay, babe, calm down." Maddy scoffs and shakes her head but Morgan spies that little shy smile peeking through.

When their skin touches, Morgan can feel her - more than she has ever felt from any other person before. Maddy’s brain is basically a computer and for Morgan, it was just a sign that they were meant to be. Maddy produces code. Morgan can read it. Her little ticks, her process, her beauty - it all screams to be understood and Morgan indulges in it, willingly.

She loves her wife.

Maddy spins her around.

They are both wearing modernized Korean hanboks now and they are comfortable and gorgeous as f*ck. Hers has bands of oranges, pinks, and reds on the sleeves. While Maddy’s has soft peach-gold, creams, and greys.

But Morgan wonders how weird it must look that they are wearing hanboks and dancing the tango, to a really old Selena song.

But, in the end, she doesn’t care.

Because it’s _their_ wedding.

That song is just for fun, to make everyone chuckle and smile, then it turns into a slow song, their song, the song that accompanied Morgan down the aisle.

The song that played when Morgan grabbed Maddy by the collar and kissed her for the first time and shouted, “I’m in love with you, dammit. And I know you’re in love with me,” and that's the version they tell everyone, even though Morgan swore and cried a lot more in reality.

* * *

 

Then, she dances with her dad - her Ironman, her superhero, her best friend.

Next, she dances with her mom - her Rescue in times of need, her role model, her rock.

Then, to her surprise, her blue alien aunt steps up and reaches out her hand.

* * *

Nebula had remained at her table, throughout the entirety of the reception, with the other Avengers and members of the wedding party, only occasionally engaging in conversation with her typically succinct smile. But that smile was preserved in her cheeks through cybernetics and quiet joy.

She did not look out of place, but she maintained her stoic nature, despite that smile. She belonged there, sitting at the tables, with the rest of the family, in crimson and gold, against the blue hue of her skin.

* * *

Morgan spent most of the day, focused on her wife and wedding. But the times she was not, her eyes and attention would be drawn to the table where her father, her mother, her uncle, and her aunt all sat and shared in revelry. Then she would remember why she always had so much love to give.

* * *

Now, on the dance floor, “You learned how to dance?” Morgan asks, stupefied by affection as Nebula pulls her into the first steps.

“You are my niece, Morgan Stark,” Nebula mutters quietly as she smiles. “I did for you.”

* * *

Morgan fights back her tears and knows that her favorite blue alien aunt means, “I love you.” She holds her tight and nestles her head into her shoulders.

But then, Nebula actually says, with words, with real words,

“I love you, Morgan Stark.”

Twelve yards away from when Morgan Stark asked her, “Do you love me?” on the porch, those twenty years ago; Nebula can finally say those words in response.

“I love you,” she says again. Her voice mechanism trembles, soft and timid. Its ferocious rumbling long gone, only warmth and affection remain. “Thank you...for letting me be a part of this.”

The tears come.

“I love you too. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

* * *

There are so many ways Nebula - adopted sister of Tony Stark, aunt of Morgan Stark-Cho, Guardian of the Galaxy, Defender of the Universe, part-time Avenger - can say, “I love you.”

Morgan Stark knows them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, for all the love you threw this way for this fic. I hope this was a satisfactory end for you and that you enjoyed reading this because I enjoyed writing it. I might go back and make a few tweaks and I know it's not perfect but it accomplishes what I wanted it to do: for Tony to walk his daughter down the aisle and for Nebula to be a maid of honor and say, "I love you." 
> 
> Tony Stark deserves to walk his daughter down the aisle, on his birthday, and Nebula deserves a family. 
> 
> Also, happy birthday, Ironman.


End file.
